Google was recently ordered to comply with Apple’s request for information regarding what methods the search giant is using to sift through internal documents related to Android, with the resulting data being part of a second U.S. patent infringement suit against Samsung. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal issued the order compelling Google to reveal how it is selecting documents to furnish as part of the discovery process in the so-called “Galaxy Nexus” patent case according to Bloomberg. According to Grewal:

The court cannot help but note the irony that Google, a pioneer in searching the Internet, is arguing that it would be unduly burdened by producing a list of how it searched its own files.

Google has two days in which to provide the requested information, which includes search terms used to find documents related to the case, as well as the employees from whom the documents originated. Apple asked for the documents as the Samsung products in suit all use the Android mobile operating system and information related to the OS is quite important as part of the proceedings. Google previously argued that furnishing the information would be too cumbersome and noted that it was a third party to the ongoing case. Grewal disagreed saying “Third party status does not confer a right to obfuscation or obstinacy.”

This specific suit is Apple’s second swing at Samsung in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is separate from the two companies’ high profile jury trial which ended in a $1.05 billion verdict. The landmark Apple vs. Samsung case is still in post-trial proceedings, the most recent news being a November 12 trial date set by presiding Judge Lucy Koh. The new trial currently seeks to recalculate the $450.5 million in damages Judge Koh vacated in March due to uncertainty over the jury’s findings regarding 14 Samsung devices.

The two tech giants continue to participate in the ongoing lawsuits against one another, which seems hindering for the industry as a whole. We’ll have to wait and see what comes of the whole ordeal.